ARX Series
FinTech
Editor's selection of posts on financial technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), crypto-assets, distributed ledgers, big data, and relevant regulation.
Overview
Recent developments in financial technology (FinTech) have generated much excitement and some concern. They forced industry practitioners to envision a future where many of their tasks will be simplified or fully automated, upending the way financial advice, investment, and banking services are provided. Will artificial intelligence applications powered by machine learning better manage investments than humans do? Will the distributed ledger (blockchain) technology make global financial transactions instant, seamless, safe, and free? Will regulation keep up with the pace of innovation? How should investment professionals adjust their career paths to benefit from these developments? The Editor's selection of ARX posts sheds light on some of these issues.
Select "Research" in the upper left-hand corner of the page to find more FinTech content in ARX's repository of more than 4,000 posts.
Sector Overviews
Incorporating Digital Assets in Investment Portfolios
In the 2023 World Investor Week Forum in Taiwan, Gerald Goh, Founder and CEO of Sygnum bank shared insights on the evolution of Digital Asset Ecosystem and strategies to incorporate digital assets into investment portfolios.
2 November 2023 |Gerald Goh; CFA Society Taiwan | Video: 44 mins.
Red Ocean: A Glimpse of Banking and FinTech
This article gives an overview of several FinTech trends in the banking industry. It touches on Virtual Bank, M&A Strategy, and Blockchain application in the industry.
4 October 2023 | Kenneth Kwong, CFA; Calvin Gan; Hart Li; Vic Wu; Alizee Chen
India Telecom: 5G Launched Officially
5G telecom services were officially launched in India. We provide our thoughts on the 5G mobile outlook in India and how the major telecom players are positioned.
20 October 2022 | Jonathan Tan; Lakshmanan R, CFA,FRM; Rohan Kapur, CFA; CreditSights
WEBINAR: Asia-Pacific FinTech Month 2022 - Fintech for Sustainability
In this recorded webinar, we looked at a few business models and practices of fintech firms that contribute positively to sustainability. We also looked at the challenges when it comes to continuing innovation, and evolving opportunities in this area. In addition, we discussed how regulators and policymakers are encouraging fintech in sustainability, and additional steps that are needed.
25 August 2022 | CFA Institute | Video: 1hr 30mins.
WEBINAR: Asia-Pacific FinTech Month 2022 - Digital Banking Maturity
In this third webinar of the FinTech Month series, we looked at how heightened competition has been helping to push digital transformation in the banking sector – including the emergence and impact of virtual banks. Our panel of experts shared their views on the growth opportunities, regulatory implications and lessons learnt along the digitalization journey.
18 August 2022 | CFA Institute | Video: 1hr 33mins.
Fireside Chat: Future of the FinTech Eco-System
Watch the recorded webinar where Jennifer Tan, FCCA, chair of ACCA Hong Kong and CEO of Alipay Financial Services revealed the future of FinTech eco-system.
11 February 2022 | CFA Institute
Panel Discussion: Investment Management Professional of the Future
Watch the recorded webinar and learn how can firms build more effective teams that integrate human intelligence with artificial intelligence and how will individual professionals need to adapt in order to succeed?
11 February 2022 | CFA Institute
CFA Society Malaysia FinTech Forum 2021
CFA Society Malaysia presents the inaugural FinTech Forum 2021 - a three-part series of webinars, which spotlight leading finance and investment industry speakers and practitioners.
2-16 June 2021 | CFA Society Malaysia
WEBINAR: Building the FinTech Workforce of the Future
As Covid-19 forces governments and the industry to focus on workforce skills, the future is shaped by the convergence of technology and traditional finance. The panel discusses its implications for education, training, future job opportunities, and how this is being addressed at a macro (governmental) and micro (companies and individuals) level.
3 March 2021 | Pete Bentley, Brian Lam, Warwick Pearmund, Larry Cao, CFA, Clare Witts | Video: 1 hr 3 min.
The FinTech Dividend: How Much Money Is FinTech Likely to Mobilize for Sustainable Development?
Does FinTech offer a new way of funding sustainable development? We find that roughly 3%-13% of funding required for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – or around $50 billion to $125 billion – could come from a FinTech dividend.
20 January 2021 | Bryane Michael
Artificial Intelligence
Recorded Webinar: Unleashing the Power of AI: Exploring Data Science for Investment Professionals
During the webinar, Charles Cheung, PhD, Solutions Architect Manager and Deputy Director, AI Technology Center of Nvidia and Ginny Wong, PhD, Data Scientist of Nvidia shared their insights on the evolving AI landscape, and how AI is impacting the finance and investment industry from business operations and investment decision-making point of views.
7 November 2023 | CFA Institute | Video:1 hour 13 mins
Artificial Intelligence in Investment Management — Elevating Client Relationship and Return
AI stands to provide benefits to investment management. But how to identify their values and deploy them more effectively? Find out from ARX Business Model Investment Series now!
21 November 2022 | Kevin Pereira; Rajendra Shroff
Natural Language Processing in Banking: Current Uses
This article will introduce a branch of Artificial Intelligence called Natural Language Processing (NLP) and dive into two popular NLP models, Word2vec and Bag of Words. Subsequently, the article will examine NLP applications in banking use cases like document search, investment analysis, and customer service. Finally, we will end with some key takeaways for banking executives.
22 November 2022 | Kevin Pereira; Rajendra Shroff
WEBINAR: Asia-Pacific FinTech Month 2022 - Deployment of AI in the Financial Services and Investment Industry
In this recorded webinar, we brought together experts from technology companies and financial institutions to discuss on key AI techniques and practices. They also shared the experience on the benefits and challenges during the deployment. Lastly, we discussed the organizational transformation needed to realise the true potential of artificial intelligence.
11 August 2022 | CFA Institute | Video: 1hr 37mins.
WEBINAR: AI and Big Data Adoption in APAC Financial Services and Strategies for Talent Development
Financial institutions across major financial centres in APAC are increasingly recognizing the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. How should financial institutions and finance professionals prepare themselves for what is likely the most significant change they will experience in their career? What is the secret sauce to successfully adopting AI and big data in finance? What type of talents are most in demand?
14 December 2021 | CFA Institute | Video: 60 min.
WEBINAR: T-Shaped Teams - The Roadmap for AI and Big Data Adoption in Investments
Incorporating artificial intelligence and big data techniques in the investment process is critical for the success of the future investment firms and investment professionals alike. And yet, many are struggling to find out where to begin and what to do to prepare themselves for the inevitable change. We discuss how investment organizations build T-shaped teams to connect the investment and technology functions for success.
15 September 2021 | CFA Institute | Video: 1 hr 7 min.
How to Build a Simple ML-Powered Stock Movement Classifier
We harness computing power and machine learning to build a classifier tool to predict whether a stock will go up or down on any given day. It helps investment managers boost their predicting power in their investment management practices.
5 January 2021 | Analytics Vidhya: Zain Farrukh
Distributed Ledger Technology
Crypto Assets Investment Risk & Opportunities
In this panel discussion of 2023 World Investor Week forum in Taiwan, speakers illustrated some use cases of crypto in the corporate world and the finance industry. They also discussed the risks and opportunities of crypto investment.
2 November 2023 |I.C. Liu, CFA; Alex Liu; Gerald Goh; CFA Society Taiwan | Video: 39 mins.
Project Dynamo – A Project Exploring the Programmability and Transferability of Digital Tokens
The BIS Project Dynamo explores programmable digital tokens and their potential to boost financing for SMEs in supply chains. Find out more with ARX Business Model Investment Series now!
05 Sep 2023 | Kenneth Kwong, CFA
FSRG Briefs - Virtual Assets
Overview of the current state of the market for virtual assets in Hong Kong, covering legal and regulatory frameworks, fund management, trends and opportunities, plus a snapshot of the development of central bank digital currencies.
16 Feb 2023 | Jason Chan; Financial Services Research Group
Blockchain – The Underlying Technology of Cryptocurrency
Blockchain technology has potential beyond crypto. Discover its characteristics and use cases in our latest article now!
6 March 2023 | Kenneth Kwong, CFA
The Merge – A Milestone Event in the DeFi Universe
Ethereum went through “the merge” in September this year. What was it about? To learn more, download ARX Business Model Investment Series now!
31 October 2022 | Kenneth Kwong, CFA
Investing & Building in Web 3
In this episode of FTSE Russell Convenes, Agnes Budzyn, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at SFI, discusses the latest NFT trends, how regulation will adapt alongside digital assets and the future of the Metaverse.
30 August 2022 | FTSE Russell Convenes
Neha Narula, MIT - Crypto vs. CBDC
Neha Narula returns to FTSE Russell Convenes to give us an update on the progress being made in both Central Bank Digital Currencies and Crypto Currencies.
15 August 2022 | FTSE Russell Convenes
WEBINAR: Asia-Pacific FinTech Month 2022 - Virtual Assets
Watch our recorded webinar to hear from cryptoassets experts discussing valuating crypto assets, emerging opportunities and trends of virtual assets in APAC from different stakeholders' perspectives and advise to investment professionals.
04 August 2022 | CFA Institute | Video: 1hr 31mins.
Perspectives on the Current Crypto Slump
The cryptocurrency market has shown significant volatility even before the current downturn. We can better understand the drawdowns by looking at the S&P Cryptocurrency Indices.
17 May 2022 | Sharon Liebowitz,
Valuation of Loyalty Tokens
Valuation of tokens is a wager on the platform adoption. This study investigates the effect of platform adoption on the valuation of loyalty tokens and the contingent claims with the token as an underlying.
15 February 2022 | Anand Shah
Coin@Metaverse
India and SE Asia are beckoning capital for cryptocurrency despite strong regulatory headwinds.
1 January 2022 | CAPER
When a Safe-Haven Asset is Less Than a Safe-Haven Play
We find that gold, T-bond, and Swiss Franc are full-safe havens and Bitcoin is a partial-safe haven asset. Moreover, our model is effective in portfolio construction.
This paper was submitted for the CFA Institute ARX Best Paper Award at the 26th Annual New Zealand Finance Colloquium 2022.
4 December 2021 | Leon Li, Carl Chen
Bringing Transparency to an Emerging Asset Class: S&P Cryptocurrency Indices
Because digital assets are an emerging asset class, it is helpful to discuss what cryptocurrencies (also referred to as "coins" in this document) are, how the asset class has grown, and how they are regulated.
15 October 2021 | S&P Dow Jones Indices
Bringing Transparency to an Emerging Asset Class: S&P Cryptocurrency Indices
Because digital assets are an emerging asset class, it is helpful to discuss what cryptocurrencies (also referred to as "coins" in this document) are, how the asset class has grown, and how they are regulated.
15 October 2021 | S&P Dow Jones Indices
Data Analytics
WEBINAR: Asia-Pacific FinTech Month 2022 - Fintech for Sustainability
In this recorded webinar, we looked at a few business models and practices of fintech firms that contribute positively to sustainability. We also looked at the challenges when it comes to continuing innovation, and evolving opportunities in this area. In addition, we discussed how regulators and policymakers are encouraging fintech in sustainability, and additional steps that are needed.
25 August 2022 | CFA Institute | Video: 1hr 30mins.
VIDEO: Data Science - The Game Changer of the Industries
This forum discussed the strategic aspect of data analytics, real world examples related to governance of data science, and how it is becoming more important for one's career development.
25 August 2021 | CFA Society Malaysia | Video: 58 min.
The Firm as a Data-Generating Mechanism
Big data is a strategically important resource. It is more likely to be a source of competitive advantage if it is generated in-house. Firms will be larger and more diversified because data analysis benefits from economies of scale.
5 November 2020 | Mark A DeWeaver
Eye in the Sky: Private Satellites and Government Macro Data
Relying on government announcements for macro information creates a potential conflict of interest and macro uncertainty. Many private entities have started using alternative data strategies to predict macro numbers.
22 October 2020 | Abhiroop Mukherjee, George Panayotov, Janghoon Shon
Regulation
Taiwan’s Crypto Trend and Developments
Alex Liu, CEO of MaiCoin Group introduced the 2023 Taiwan blockchain ecosystem and shared his thoughts on Taiwan’s crypto trend and developments including technology advancement, market potentials and regulatory landscape.
2 November 2023 | Alex Liu; CFA Society Taiwan | Video: 28 mins.
SFC's Consultation Paper on the Proposed Regulatory Requirements for Virtual Asset Trading Platform Operators Licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission
The CFA Institute and CFA Society Hong Kong jointly responded to SFC’s consultation on proposed regulatory requirements for virtual asset trading platform operators. Download to read more.
12 Apr 2023 | CFA Institute; CFA Society Hong Kong
Innovation Policy Within the Greater Bay Area: HK and Shenzhen's Cross-Border Regional Innovation System
The innovation policy landscapes in Hong Kong and Shenzhen differ considerably, with Hong Kong’s largely fragmented and duplicative and Shenzhen’s concentrated but less extensive.
04 November 2021 | Naubahar Sharif; HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS)
Will FinTech Law Help Countries Achieve Sustainable Development Goals?
Most central bankers and finance ministers in Asia look to financial technologies (FinTech) as a way to increase their UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) scores. We review legal developments and perform econometrics to provide guidance.
10 December 2021 | Bryane Michael
Do Patent Trolls Cause High-Tech Firms to Delist?
Using a sample of high-tech and patent intensive firms from the U.S. market between 2000 and 2019, we find that the frivolous patent trolling is positively associated with the delisting decision of the defendant firms.
15 September 2021 | Sayla Siddiqui
VIDEO: Evolution of Banking in a Digital Revolution
A deep-dive into digital transformation, potential career opportunities and skillsets required in the future of the banking industry. Learn how a to navigate this changing environment.
26 August 2021 | CFA Society Malaysia | Video: 51 min.
Enabling an Efficient Regulatory Environment for AI
ASIFMA proposes a set of regulatory principles for AI which will form the basis for an efficient regulatory environment while supporting customer and investor protection, market integrity, and financial and systemic stability.
29 June 2021 | Laurence Van der Loo, ASIFMA
About the Author(s)
Senior Director: Scott Lee
Project Manager: Natalie Yiu
Coordinator: Christy Leung